


Held

by shakespeareintheworld



Series: Forbidden [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 06:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16738648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shakespeareintheworld/pseuds/shakespeareintheworld
Summary: The first time Cullen held Atlas in his arms he was angry.





	Held

The first time Cullen held Atlas he was angry.

He didn’t even know her name and yet she had become one of the most important people in Thedas in a matter of moments. She was unconscious and mysteriously unharmed. Her clothes were covered in the soot and dust of the explosion. She was the lone survivor of the Conclave and the only suspect.

Her magic was tainted. The green mark that slashed through her palm hummed with the same energy that surrounded the remains. It sparked as he carried her down from the ruins. Her arm twitched with each crackle and her face twisted in pain, faint sounds escaping her parted lips. Cullen’s hold on her was weak, his still lyrium-infused body repulsed by the tainted magic that coursed through her veins. He couldn’t believe such a young mage would do such a thing, or how she had the power to do it.

He remembered the look she gave him when he had entered the tent that morning. Her face was firm and her dark eyes challenging. Cullen didn’t miss the way she stepped in front of the mage on the cot, had felt the subtle build of magic around her. And then she had learned who he was and her face twisted into disgust - _but he wasn’t the Knight-Commander anymore_. He almost admired her bravery in those moments, her actions spoke of a protector.

But the evidence around her showed otherwise. She was no protector, she was a murderer.

Cullen ignored the way Varric glared at him as he allowed people to curse her unconscious form. She was a criminal and she should be treated as such.

 

* * *

  
The second time Cullen held Atlas he was confused.

She had attempted to close the Breach in the sky without a second thought. He had watched her jump from the top of the remains to the bottom with a determined look upon her dirtied face. Her eyes glowed a golden-yellow in the green light and he almost missed the piercing black shade they had been that morning.

Atlas had looked every bit a dangerous apostate - wild unkempt hair, angry eyes and a frown upon her lips. But then she had placed a barrier between him and the Pride Demon. Across the battlefield, her eyes met his and with a firm nod, she pulled her magic away for him to strike at the demon. Following the motion, she had raised her glowing palm to the mass in the sky and forced it to close. She had collapsed to the floor with a harsh thud soon after.

She had kept them safe - barrier appearing all across the battleground, her ice encasing demons for his soldiers to attack. Maker, she had even pushed an unsuspecting Cassandra away from the oncoming claws of the Pride Demon, her leg being sliced open instead.

She had done all of that, even after the way she had been treated.

Her magic didn’t feel so unusual as he carried her down from the ruins. Solas had bound her leg as best he could but Cullen could feel her blood seeping into his clothes. His footsteps picked up when he felt a droplet land on his leather boots, the faint sound almost deafening to him.

Her eyelids fluttered and Cullen caught a glimpse of her golden eyes once more. He felt his stomach twist in an unfamiliar way.

* * *

  
The third time Cullen held Atlas he was scared.

Her body was shivering uncontrollably in his arms and her skin was ice cold. Even with his surcoat and a blanket from Cassandra wrapped around her, nothing could halt the tremors. Her face was hidden by the reddish-brown fur of the surcoat, her brows the only thing visible behind the mass. Her complexion was fading fast, colour washing away as her body began to succumb to the icy winds and snow of the Frostbacks.

“No!” Cullen snarled and he sprinted through the camp, Cassandra barely able to keep up. He yelled for people to move aside as he headed for the healer’s tent, sparing fearful glancing towards the fading woman in his arms.

Varric was at the tent, pacing in front of the flaps as fast as a dwarf could. Cullen almost cried out in relief as the dwarf spotted his approaching form, opening the tent with a quick flick. He had barely barged his way into the tent before Dorian pulled Atlas from his arms. He couldn’t help the watery gasp that escaped his lips as she left his arms. Cullen ignored the quick look Dorian threw his way, his eyes focused entirely on Atlas.

Dorian laid her across an empty cot, Solas joining his side in a snap. Throwing his surcoat and the blanket from her Dorian and Solas crouched over her prone form. The faint green glow of healing magic quickly flowed over her body at a rapid pace. He felt a pang in his chest as Dorian lent down to whispered faint words in a foreign tongue in her ear, his hand holding hers in a tight grip.

Cullen hadn’t looked away from Atlas for a few minutes until he felt a faint grasp on his shoulder. Looking away he found Cassandra standing beside him. She was leaning some of her weight on him, hand across her stomach where he knew a bloodied bandage was wrapped beneath her clothes.

“It’s up to them now,” She spoke quietly, “You’ve done what you can.”

She held out his surcoat towards him but he shook his head. “She needs it more than I.”

Cullen looked back to Atlas, watching as Dorian push strands of hair from her forehead. Her face had regained little colour and her eyes were now dancing beneath her charcoal lids. He longed to see those golden eyes once more. To have her stare at him as no other person did.

 

* * *

  
The fourth time Cullen held Atlas, he knew she was the one.

Her fingers of her scarred hand were curled into the hairs on his chest, unconsciously tugging at them every now and then. The only sound in the room was her breathing and the faint whistling of the wind. He was content for the first time he could remember.

She lay on top of his body, skin touching skin with droplets of sweat cooling on her back. Her eyelids fluttered and she rubbed her face softly against his chest. A small arm tightened around his neck, her body pulling impossibly close to his. A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth and she stilled. Her breathing slowed and she finally fell into a deep sleep.

Cullen pulled an arm away from her waist and brushed a stray curl from her cheek. He relished the softness of her skin against his calloused fingers. _How was she so soft yet so hardened?_

Slowly he ran a finger over her tattoo and chuckled softly as her face twitched. Brushing it again he longed to see her eyes open, to have them stare at him sleepily as they glowed with the magic that flowed through her body. Smiling her pressed a kiss to her forehead and breathed in the scent of the skin - snow, magic and cinnamon. Then he pulled the blanket from around their waists up their bodies. He tucked the blanket tight around Atlas as a faint shiver passed over her, a flash of worry tugging at him.

The last thing Cullen saw that night was the aurora of the Frostbacks overhead. The last thing he felt was his heart fluttered as Atlas pressed a soft kiss to his throat.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey it's been awhile. 
> 
> All I can do is apologise. A lot happened to me, both good and bad. 
> 
> However I'm back and slowly working on Cordis Vetitum. I'm rewriting the chapters I have posted, as I feel like they're not up to par to what I want, AND I'm working on the next chapter as well. So, hopefully I can give you something new soon. 
> 
> Anyway, onto what I've written. This has been a one-shot in my mind for some time and I really wanted to kick off my return to writing with something easy but something familiar. So I wanted to briefly explore Cullen and his emotions. I hope this is okay, I haven't written something like this in awhile so it's a bit nerve-wracking to come back to writing. 
> 
> Everything is written by me and checked by me so if there are any mistakes I apologise! 
> 
> Comments are entirely welcome, I love to hear feedback and opinions! x


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